The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

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Monday, April 15, 2013

Vatican
City, 15 April 2013
(VIS) – This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, His Holiness
Francis received His Excellency Mr. Mariano Rajoy Brey, prime
minister of Spain. Prime Minister Rajoy then met with the Secretary
of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., accompanied by Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

“In
a cordial atmosphere, the talks allowed an exchange of views on the
difficult economic-financial situation in the world that Spain, like
other European countries is facing. This situation has provoked a
serious labour crisis, involving many families and particularly the
young. In such a context, the Church’s nearness was expressed and
the noteworthy work for those most in need that Caritas and other
ecclesial charitable associations carries out was noted. Reference
was also made to the country's current political-institutional
structure, noting the need for dialogue in society and among all its
components, dialogue that is based on mutual respect and keeping in
mind values such as justice and solidarity, in seeking the common
good.”

“Moreover,
good bilateral relations between the Holy See and Spain were noted,
which, in the spirit of the Agreements of 1979, have been
strengthened more and more, just as were noted topics of current
issues and of interest for the Church in that country. In particular,
the institution of marriage and the family and the importance of
religious education were discussed. Mention of the international
situation, with particular attention on Latin America, was not
overlooked.”

Vatican
City, 15 April 2013
(VIS) – “Today, the Superiors of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith met with the Presidency of the Leadership
Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) of the United States of America.
Archbishop James Peter Sartain, archbishop of Seattle, Washington,
USA, and the Holy See’s Delegate for the Doctrinal Assessment of
the LCWR, also participated in the meeting,” informs a communique
from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“As
this was his first opportunity to meet with the Presidency of the
LCWR, the Prefect of the Congregation, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig
Muller, expressed his gratitude for the great contribution of women
Religious to the Church in the United States as seen particularly in
the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor
which have been founded and staffed by Religious over the years.”

“The
Prefect then highlighted the teaching of the Second Vatican Council
regarding the important mission of Religious to promote a vision of
ecclesial communion founded on faith in Jesus Christ and the
teachings of the Church as faithfully taught through the ages under
the guidance of the Magisterium. He also emphasized that a Conference
of Major Superiors, such as the LCWR, exists in order to promote
common efforts among its member Institutes as well as cooperation
with the local Conference of Bishops and with individual Bishops. For
this reason, such Conferences are constituted by and remain under the
direction of the Holy See.”

“Finally,
Archbishop Muller informed the Presidency that he had recently
discussed the Doctrinal Assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed
the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform for this
Conference of Major Superiors.”

“It
is the sincere desire of the Holy See,” the note concludes, “that
this meeting may help to promote the integral witness of women
Religious, based on a firm foundation of faith and Christian love, so
as to preserve and strengthen it for the enrichment of the Church and
society for generations to come.”

Vatican
City, 15 April 2013
(VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, Pope Francis presided over Mass at
Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls on his first visit to that basilica as
Bishop of Rome. Concelebrating with the Holy Father were Cardinal
James Michael Harvey, archpriest of the basilica, and Abbot Edmund
Power, O.S.B., of the St. Paul Outside-the-Walls Abbey.

In
his homily, the Holy Father recalled that the basilica is built above
the tomb of St. Paul, “a great yet humble Apostle of the Lord, who
proclaimed him by word, bore witness to him by martyrdom and
worshipped him with all his heart.” He added that these were the
three words—proclamation, witness, worship—that he wanted to
reflect upon in light of the Word of God in the liturgy's readings.

Commenting
on the first reading, in which the Apostles are imprisoned for
preaching of the Risen Christ, the Pope observed that Peter and the
Twelve “proclaim courageously, fearlessly, what they have received:
the Gospel of Jesus. And we? Are we capable of bringing the word of
God into the environment in which we live? Do we know how to speak of
Christ, of what He represents for us, in our families, among the
people who form part of our daily lives? Faith is born from
listening, and is strengthened by proclamation.”

“The
proclamation made by Peter and the Apostles,” he emphasized, “does
not merely consist of words: fidelity to Christ affects their whole
lives, which are changed, given a new direction, and it is through
their lives that they bear witness to the faith and to the
proclamation of Christ. In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks Peter three
times to feed his flock, to feed it with his love, and He prophesies
to him: 'When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and
another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go'.
These words are addressed first and foremost to those of us who are
pastors: we cannot feed God’s flock unless we let ourselves be
carried by God’s will even where we would rather not go, unless we
are prepared to bear witness to Christ with the gift of ourselves,
unreservedly, not in a calculating way, sometimes even at the cost of
our lives.”

“But
this also applies to everyone: we all have to proclaim and bear
witness to the Gospel. … In God’s great plan, every detail is
important, even yours, even my humble little witness, even the hidden
witness of those who live their faith with simplicity in everyday
family relationships, work relationships, friendships. There are the
saints of every day, the 'hidden' saints, a sort of 'middle class of
holiness', as a French author said, that 'middle class of holiness'
to which we can all belong.”

“But
in different parts of the world, there are also those who suffer ...
on account of the Gospel; there are those who give their lives in
order to remain faithful to Christ ... Let us all remember this: one
cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the tangible witness of
one’s life. I am thinking now of some advice that Saint Francis of
Assisi gave his brothers: 'Preach the Gospel and, if necessary, use
words'. Preaching with your life, with your witness. Inconsistency on
the part of pastors and the faithful between what they say and what
they do, between word and manner of life, is undermining the Church’s
credibility.”

“All
this is possible only if we recognize Jesus Christ, because it is He
who has called us, He who has invited us to travel his path, He who
has chosen us. Proclamation and witness are only possible if we are
close to him, just as Peter, John and the other disciples in today’s
Gospel passage were gathered around the Risen Jesus. … And this is
important for us: living an intense relationship with Jesus, an
intimacy of dialogue and of life, in such a way as to recognize him
as 'the Lord'. Worshipping him!”

“I
would like all of us to ask ourselves this question: [ask yourself,
ask myself] Do we worship the Lord? Do we turn to God only to ask him
for things, to thank him, or do we also turn to him to worship him?
What does it mean, then, to worship God? … All of us, in our own
lives, consciously and perhaps sometimes unconsciously, have a very
clear order of priority concerning the things we consider important.
Worshipping the Lord means giving him the place that He must have;
worshipping the Lord means stating, believing—not only by our
words—that He alone truly guides our lives; worshipping the Lord
means that we are convinced before him that He is the only God, the
God of our lives, the God of our history.”

“This
has a consequence in our lives,” the pontiff noted. “We have to
empty ourselves of the many small or great idols that we have and in
which we take refuge and upon which we often seek to base our
security. They are idols that we sometimes keep well hidden; they can
be ambition, careerism, a taste for success, placing ourselves at the
centre, the tendency to dominate others, the claim to be the sole
masters of our lives, some sins to which we are bound, and many
others. This evening I would like a question to resound in each of
your hearts, and I would like you to answer it honestly: Have I
considered which idol lies hidden in my life that prevents me from
worshipping the Lord? Worshipping is stripping ourselves of our
idols, even the most hidden ones, and choosing the Lord as the
centre, as the privileged path of our lives.”

“The
Lord,” concluded the Bishop of Rome, “calls us each day to follow
him with courage and fidelity. He has made us the great gift of
choosing us as his disciples. He invites us to proclaim him with joy
as the Risen one, but He asks us to do so by word and by the witness
of our lives, in daily life. The Lord is the only God of our lives,
and He invites us to strip ourselves of our many idols and to worship
him alone. To proclaim, to witness, to worship.”

Vatican
City, 14 April 2013 (VIS) – The episode narrated in the Acts of the
Apostles that tells of the time Jesus first preached in Jerusalem and
the attempts of the high priests and city leaders to stop the growth
of the community of believers in Christ was the central theme of the
Regina Coeli this third Sunday of Easter.

The
Pope explained to the thousands of persons gathered in St. Peter's
Square that the Twelve, who had been jailed with the order to not
teach any more in Christ's name, responded to their persecutors: “We
must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus
… God exalted him at his right hand as leader and saviour … We
are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit.” “They
then had the Apostles flogged and ordered them again not to speak any
more in Jesus' name. And [the Twelve] went, as it says in Scripture,
'rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonour for
the sake of the name' [of Jesus].”

“I
ask myself,” the Bishop of Rome said, “ where did the first
disciples find the strength for their witness? Not just that: Where
did their joy and courage to proclaim, in spite of the obstacles and
violence, come from? Let's not forget that the Apostles were simple
people. They weren't scribes, doctors of the law, or members of the
priestly class. How could they, with their limits and the opposition
made to them by the authorities, 'have filled Jerusalem with your
teaching'? It is clear that only the Risen Lord's presence to them
and the Holy Spirit's action can explain this fact. … Their faith
was based on such a strong and personal experience of Christ, died
and risen, that they had no fear of anything or anyone. In fact, they
saw persecution as a badge of honour that allowed them to follow in
Jesus' footsteps and to be like him, witnessing with their lives.”

“This
story of the first Christian community tells us something very
important, which holds for the Church in every age, even for us: when
a person truly knows Jesus Christ and believes in him, they
experience his presence in their life and the strength of his
Resurrection, and they cannot help but to communicate this
experience. If this person encounters misunderstanding or adversity,
they act as Jesus did at his Passion: they respond with love and with
the strength of truth.”

“Praying
the Regina Coeli together,” the Pope concluded, “we ask Mary Most
Holy's assistance so that the Church throughout the world might
proclaim, with sincerity and courage, the Lord's Resurrection, and
might give effective witness to it with signs of fraternal love.
Fraternal love is the closest witness that we can give that Jesus is
alive with us, that Jesus is risen. Let us pray in a special way for
the Christians who are suffering persecution. In these days there are
many Christians who are suffering persecution, so very many in many
countries. Let us pray wholeheartedly for them with love. May they
feel the living and comforting presence of the Risen Lord.”

After
the Regina Coeli, the Holy Father noted that yesterday, in Venice,
Italy, Don Luca Passi, 19th century founder of the Pious Society of
St. Dorothy for the Laity and the Institute of the Teaching Sisters
of St Dorothy, was beatified. He also spoke of the Day of the Sacred
Heart University, which is celebrated today in Italy, the theme of
which is “New Generations: Beyond the Crisis” this year.

“This
university,” he said, “born of the mind and heart of Fr. Agostino
Gemelli, with great popular support, has trained thousands upon
thousands of young people to be competent and responsible citizens,
builders of the common good. I invite you to always support this
University so that it might continue to offer an excellent education
to new generations, so that they can face the challenges of our
present time.”

Vatican
City, 15 April 2013
(VIS) – Today, the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the
pastoral care of the Apostolic Vicariate of Alep of the Latin Rite,
Syria, presented by Bishop Giuseppe Nazzaro O.F.M., upon having
reached the age limit. At the same time, the Holy Father has
appointed Fr. Georges Abou-Khazen, O.F.M., as apostolic administrator
"sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the same
vicariate.

The
Holy Father Francis has named Cardinal Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran,
president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, as
his special envoy to the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Icon
of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Budslau, Belarus, which is scheduled to
take place from 5 to 6 July 2013 at the National Shrine in the
Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev.